Content Advisory: Rape and Sexual Assault, Child abuse/pedophilia, Incest
Trigger Warning: This film deals with sexual abuse
A woman and her family come to terms with their history of sexual abuse in Silent Beauty. When Jasmin Mara López sees a photo of her niece with her grandfather, it results in painful memories come flooding back. This results in Jasmin deciding to come forward about being sexually abused by her grandfather as a child, which has resulted in her repressing all positive memories of the time period. However, it is only after talking about it that Jasmin is able to see the past as beautiful.
Silent Beauty is a film with a very sensitive topic, so I am going to keep my thoughts relatively brief. The film is a very introspective look at director Jasmin Mara López and her family coming to terms with a history of abuse from both her grandfather and father. This story is told through the use of both archival footage and photos, as well as many shots of crashing waves, which illustrate the nightmares Jasmin has about her family drowning.
Silent Beauty is not at all an easy watch, particularly the moments where Jasmin phones her grandfather to try and get him to confront what he did to her. Silent Beauty is ultimately a very personal story for Jasmin Mara López, which is dedicated to all survivors of sexual abuse, who each have their own individual stories and paths.
Trailer for Silent Beauty – Hot Docs 2022
